Caesar Memorial

Our first Greyhound, Cleopatra, came for my husband's 40th birthday. Saving a 'retired racer' had been a long-time dream and I helped it come true for him on May 26, 2000.

Only six weeks later, our 10-year companion Bexar (an adorable Black Lab) was lost to cancer. Putting him down was like the loss of a best friend. Everyone in the house grieved for him. My husband and I would have to remind ourselves not to expect him to come back in through the doggie door every time we passed it. The house seemed incomplete. The bird was depressed and we almost lost him due to our sadness.

Then Cleo began to lose her memory...she forgot her name...she would not want to eat, and when she was hungry, she whimpered because she did not know where her food and water were kept. Her bowls had not been moved but Bexar's Placemat had been taken out of the room. Our veterinarian told us that she was grieving and that she was a leader of the pack but had no one to lead. That very day we found the next "Meet and Greet" (GALT did not exist yet) and we took Cleo with us.

She snarled and growled at two or three handsome boys and finally she let Caesar come close enough to 'lean on her'. We looked into his bright orange eyes and recognized the loving gentleness that we had so missed from Bexar. It was a match. He came home July 15, 2000 so we named him Julius Caesar.

Although we had him for only 19 months, we grew more attached to him because he was never truly healthy. Being new Greyhound parents, we had a lot to learn. Cleo was fortunately very healthy and we had learned nothing except how loving she was and that she loved attention...mainly my husband's. Caesar on the other hand, always had one physical problem or another. I even had to cook for him to eat and keep his pills down. We changed vets three times to find someone who worked well with him. But in spite of all our efforts and his drive to please us, he crossed over the Rainbow Bridge to join Bexar March 20, 2002.

We miss them both and often think of our happy times together. Many times we had said that they would have been great buddies if they had been together...and Now...They Are!